Why Baketard? Love to cook, hate to bake. Despite having gone to cooking school and working in some top kitchens, I never learned the baking side of things. I'm building my baking and photography skills, while sharing recipes that rock my world in the mean time.

Entries in pork
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This summer has been gorgeous, which is something we have lamented not having the past few years in Seattle. Because of the great weather, ours has been a crazy calendar of get-togethers and cookouts, so I haven’t taken much time for actually typing in recipes for the blog. These burgers were so completely amazing, I couldn’t NOT share them.

Until now, I always thought the Lambgasm burgers were the best burgers I’ve ever tried. They’re great. They’re even amazing. These are better. They are adapted from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table, which is one of my favorite books in my cookbook collection. I can honestly say I've made over half the recipes in the book and haven't been disappointed with a single one! (FYI, She has a new book coming out in the fall from her Wine Bar in LA, The A.O.C. Cookbook and you KNOW I've pre-ordered THAT action. If it's even half of what her original book is, it will be a keeper.

Ok, to the details--Adding the aromatics and bacon inside the burger is one thing, throwing in chorizo is another. Add the atomic romesco and homemade aioli takes it to the next level. To be fair, her recipe for romesco is pretty smooth and not too brutally hot, but I ran out of anchos and the only chiles in the house were a package I found of shredded, dried chiles from Hunan I’d brought back from an asia trip. I followed the instructions below for the romesco, subbing these in. The romesco still tasted like what I expected a romesco to be—it just had an afterburn which pretty much guaranteed we’d be sitting on a sno-cone for the next three days. We powered through anyway.

A few more modifications:

I added caramelized onions as a topping, because HELLO—what’s better than caramelized onions?

Seriously, what is?

I also subbed in cheap grocery store potato buns for the brioche buns, because while I like brioche in many things, BRIOCHE BUNS ARE BULLSHIT. You end up with such a huge-assed bun, and everything else gets lost. Give me a butter-toasted cheapassed grocery store bun ANY day over the fussy, hoity-toidy brioche bun.

I used aged new Zealand cheddar, pecorino-romano, beer and sodium citrate to make Modernist Cuisine at Home processed cheese. Made with all cheese, but rubbery-melty-good like Velveeta. You can find recipes for this all over the place. While it’s not critical for this recipe, it rounded out all the flavors really well.

Finally, this recipe calls for 2 pounds of pork and a quarter pound of chorizo. Where the hell are you going to find a quarter pound of chorizo? I bought a package of ¾ pound and just threw it all in. It was delicious.

Suzanne Goin says to serve this with a vinegary coleslaw. We did it with a spicy potato salad and the Zucchini and Curried Breadcrumb Tian from last week’s NYT.

Sno-cone anyone?

Suzanne Goin’s Grilled Pork Burgers

Makes 6 burgers

For the burger:

· 1 ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

· 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grilling

· ½ cup diced shallots

· 1 tablespoon minced garlic

· 1 tablespoon thyme leaves

· 2 chiles de arbol, thinly sliced on the bias

· 2 pounds ground pork

· ¼ pound fresh Mexican chorizo, casing removed

· 3 ounces applewood-smoked bacon, finely diced

· 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

· 6 slices Manchego cheese

· 6 brioche buns or other good burger buns

· Aioli (recipe follows)

· Romesco (recipe follows)

· 2 ounces arugula

· Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium sauté pan, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat a few minutes until the seeds release their aroma and darken slightly. Pound the seeds in a mortar or spice grinder until coarsely ground.

Return the pan to the stove over high heat for 1 minutes. Add the olive oil and shallots. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook for a few minutes, sitrring, once or twice, until the shallots start to soften. Add the garlic, thyme, cumin and sliced chile. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of black peppery, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the shallots become translucent. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the ground pork, chorizo, bacon, shallot mixture, and parsley, being careful not to overmix the meat. Season with 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Shape the meat into six 6-ounce patties. Chill in the refrigerator if not using right away.

Light the grill 30 to 40 minutes before cooking and remove pork burgers from the refrigerator to come to room temperature (if you made them in advance).

When the coals are broken down, red, and glowing, brush the pork burgers with olive oil and grill them 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, until they're nicely browned. Turn the burgers over, and place a piece of cheese on each one. Cook another 3 minutes or so, until the pork is cooked through. (It should still be slightly pink in the center.)

Slice the buns in half, brush them with olive oil, and toast them on the grill, cut side down, for a minute or so, until they're lightly browned.

Spread both sides of the buns and the aioli. Place a burger on the bottom half of each bun, and dollop with a generous amount of romesco. Place some arugula leaves on top, and finish with the top half of the bun.

For the aioli and the romesco:

· 1 extra-large egg yolk

· ¼ cup grapeseed oil

· ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

· 1 small clove garlic

· ¼ lemon, for juicing

· Pinch cayenne pepper

· Kosher salt

· 5 ancho chiles

· 2 tablespoons raw almonds

· 2 tablespoons blanched hazelnuts

· 1 ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

· 1 slice country bread, about 1-inch thick

· 1/3 cup San Marzano canned tomatoes

· 1 clove garlic, chopped

· 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

· 1/2 lemon, for juicing

· Kosher salt

For the aioli: Place the yolk in a stainless steel bowl. Begin whisking in the grapeseed oil drop by drop. Once the mixture has thickened and emulsified, you can whisk in the remaining grapeseed and olive oils in a slow steady stream. If the mixture gets too thick, add a drop or two of water.

Pound the garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt with a mortar and pestle. Whisk the garlic paste into the aioli. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and the cayenne. Taste for balance and seasoning. If the aioli seems thick and gloppy, thin it with a little water. In addition to thinning the aioli, this will also make it creamier.

For romesco: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Remove and discard the stems and seeds from the chiles, and then soak them in warm water for 15 minutes to soften. Strain the chiles, and pat dry with paper towels.

Meanwhile, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until they smell nutty and are golden brown.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and wait a minute. Fry the slice of bread on both sides until golden brown. Remove the bread from the pan and cool. Cut it into 1-inch cubes and set aside.

Return the pan to the stove over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the chiles and sauté for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato juices have evaporated and the tomato starts to color slightly. Turn off the heat, and leave the mixture in the pan.

In a food processor, pulse together the toasted nuts, garlic, and fried bread until the bread and nuts are coarsely ground. Add the chile-tomato mixture and process for a minute more.

With the machine running, slowly pour in the remaining 1 cup olive oil and process until you have a smooth purée. Don't worry, the romesco will "break" or separate into solids and oil; this is normal. Add the parsley, and season to taste with lemon juice and more salt if you like.

Everyone has their Easter traditions. For us, it’s a Heathen Brunch with a combination of good food and questionable taste with regard to the themes surrounding the foods on the table. This year, I threw away the traditional ham idea and instead worked on making my first Porchetta. Porchetta is an Italian skin-on pork belly, generally wrapped around something else – sometimes a pork tenderloin, other times sausage or another savory filling. I was thrilled to see that Tasting Table published the Porchetta recipe from Olympic Provisions in Portland a couple of weeks ago. If you’ve never been to Olympic Provisions, you’re missing out. Their charcuterie is brilliant, and they have a small restaurant setup, where you can dive into more meat than you can possibly consume. This dish is one of my favorites from their repertoire, and it turned out great.

I made minimal substitutions and modifications to this recipe— First, I scored the skin to make it crispier. Also, when I sliced and seared it Easter Morning, I simmered the maple syrup used for brushing with a few cinnamon sticks and some star anise to add a little more character. Finally, the belly I procured was only about 8lbs, so I didn’t bother cutting it into two roasts. Besides, with the sausage stuffing it’s a feat to roll the damned thing and I didn’t want to do it twice!

The measurements here are a combination of Imperial and metric, and it’s good to use a scale for the sausage prep.

Enjoy. This dish will send everyone running back for more.

Italian Sausage-Stuffed Porchetta

Executive Chef Erin Williams

Olympic Provisions - Portland, Ore., USA

Yield: 20 servings

Cold water, 1 gal

Kosher salt, 1 C

Sugar, 1/2 C

Pork belly, 10- to 12-Lb1 each

Olive oil, as needed

Italian sausage4 Lb (Recipe Below)

Maple syrup (optional)as needed

Sea saltas needed

Eggs, as needed

Toast, as needed

Instructions:

1. Combine water, salt and sugar. Submerge belly in brine, top with a weight so it stays submerged and refrigerate 24 hours.

2. Remove belly from brine, pat dry, then halve belly crosswise. For each porchetta roast, turn belly skin-side down. Pack 2 pounds sausage down middle of each belly half lengthwise and roll up tightly to form a log. Tie with butcher’s twine. Sear porchetta in olive oil until brown on all sides. Roast in a rotisserie or 375-degree F oven until internal temperature registers 135 degrees F, about 2 hours. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.

3. To serve, slice porchetta crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron pan. Brown porchetta on both sides until crispy and thoroughly warmed through. Glaze with maple syrup (if using), season with sea salt, and serve with eggs and toast.

Hey, I want some!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Executive Chef Erin Williams

Olympic Provisions - Portland, Ore., USA

Yield: 2 kg

Pork shoulder, cubed, 1360 4/5 g

Pork fatback, cubed, 583 1/5 g

Sea salt, fine, 29 1/5 g

Freshly ground black pepper, 9.7 g

Fennel seed, ground, 5 4/5 g

Chili flakes, ground, 4.9 g

Garlic, minced, 3.9 g

Oregano, dried, 3.9 g

Coriander, ground, 9.7 g

Instructions:

1. Combine pork and fatback with salt and spices and marinate overnight. Grind mixture with a coarse-grind die, transfer to a mixer fitted with paddle attachment and mix for 1 to 2 minutes until mixture feels tacky. Refrigerate until needed.

Ok, kids…roll up your sleeves. Herein lies the preparation for one of the most involved dishes I’ve ever done outside of culinary school or a restaurant. There’s a lot of prep involved with this dish, but it’s a great example of getting what you pay for. The effort pays off big time.

We decided to throw a baby shower for our good friends Lorna Yee and Henry Lo. They’re big into food and have VERY strong opinions about it – especially pork, pork products, serving pork, writing about pork, thinking about pork…get the picture? For friends like this, we had the perfect excuse to roast a suckling pig. (And let’s face it…eating a baby anything for a baby shower is pretty fucking funny.) To be fair, it was an effort to get this guy into the double roasting pan, which is the exact size of the pullout oven rack. Next time, I'll go upscale and give it a go with a roasting box made especially for this. I've been eyeing these for a long time.

This recipe does require you to think ahead, as the brining and air-drying takes a couple of days. You can order the pig from a butcher—we needed a couple weeks of lead time for them to be able to procure it. If you’re in Seattle, Don and Joe’s at the Pike Place Market hooked us up.

The only other things on the list that were a little more difficult to find outside a normal grocery store were the foie gras, which you can find from specialty stores (Seattle Caviar Company is a great source) and the meat lacing needle. Meat lacing needles are easy to get around thanksgiving, but tend to be out of stock in the summer.

We filled the house and outside deck with friends, roasted this baby up and served it with roasted asparagus with a hazelnut aioli and pinot noir reduction; tartlettes with oven-roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, gruyere and balsamic-roasted onions; summer bean salad with lemon pesto and boquerone (marinated Spanish white anchovies) beignets; and roasted blue cheese-stuffed figs wrapped in pancetta (MORE PORK). I’ll post the recipes for these other dishes later.

Both the suckling pig and summer bean salad recipes come from Laurent Tourondel’s latest book. If you haven’t bought this book yet, DO IT. There isn’t a single recipe in the book that won’t make your mouth water. Trust me. I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this.

Special thanks to Jackie Baisa for making some beautiful photos included here while I was slaving over a hot stove!

Aromatic Stuffed Suckling Pig

Adapted from Fresh From the Market – Seasonal Cooking with Laurent Tourondel

Serves 8 – 12

Special Equipment:

5 Gallon Pot; Meat Lacing Needle

Suckling Pig:

2 gallons water

1 ½ cups kosher salt

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 garlic head, halved

½ bunch fresh thyme

24 fresh sage leaves

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

1 Tbsp toasted fennel seeds

1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns

1 suckling pig, 10 to 12 lbs, deboned (Note from Marc: We used a 22 lb pig and adjusted accordingly, adding another third to the stuffing recipes and adding a couple of hours to the cooking time)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 large onions, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

3 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces

Stuffing:

1/3 cup chopped pistachios

¼ cup pine nuts

1 ½ tsp fennel seeds

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

8 oz fresh porcini mushrooms, diced

1 Tbsp chopped garlic

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup thinly sliced white onion

10 oz pancetta, finely diced

2 ½ lbs pork belly, ground

22 oz hot Italian sausage

15 oz foie gras, diced

¾ cup fresh parsley, chopped

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup fresh sage, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1 ½ cup grated Meadow Creek Grayson cheese (or another washed-rind, semi-soft, pungeant cow’s milk cheese, similar to a domestic Taleggio) (Note from Marc: We used an Italian Taleggio from the Italian deli and it was fantastic)

¾ cup dry white wine

¼ cup Armagnac

2 large egg whites

3 Tbsp fleur de sel

1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Brine the Pig:

Two days before you plan to serve this dish, prepare the brine. Combine the water, salt, sugar, garlic, thyme, sage, rosemary, fennel seeds and peppercorns in a large pot with a capacity of at least 5 gallons. Bring the mixture to a summer, stirring until all ingredients are well combined. Remove from the heat and immerse the pot in an ice bath to cool. Once cooled to room temperature, add the pig, ensuring that it is completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. (Note from Marc: Because we used a bigger pig, the pot wasn’t going to be possible. Instead we poured the cooled brine into a clean ice chest, added a lot of ice and the pig, and let it soak overnight in there, checking occasionally to ensure it was still very cold.)

Remove the pig from the brine and pat it dry with a kitchen towel. Place the pig on a rack set over a large rimmed baking pan and allow the pig to dry in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

Prepare the Stuffing:

Toast the pistachios, pine nuts, and fennel seeds in a small sauté pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the porcini mushrooms and garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a clean sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and sauté until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Sauté the pancetta in a small sauté pan over medium heat until crispy, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta from the pan and place it on a plate lined with paper towels; set aside to cool.

Mix the cooked pancetta with the pork belly, Italian sausage and foie gras in a large bowl until well combined. Add the toasted nuts and fennel seeds, sautéed porcini mushrooms, caramelized onions, parsley, chopped onion, sage and rosemary; mix until well combined. Add the cheese, wine, Armagnac, and egg whites and mix until well incorporated. Season to taste with the fleur de sel and black pepper.

Roast the Pig:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Farenheit. Pack the stuffing in the cavity of the pig.

Babe the deboned pig.

It's very important to know how to pack your pork.

Using a meat lacing needle, sew the openings of the pig together.

All dressed up with noplace to go. Except my oven.

Rub the entire pig with the olive oil and wrap the ears and the tail with aluminum foil. Spread the onions, carrots, and celery evenly in a roasting pan. Place the pig, belly side down, on top of the vegetables.

Roast for 45 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees Farenheit. Continue to roast until a thermometer inserted into the middle of the pig reads 155 to 160 degrees Farenheit, about 1 hour and 15 minutes more. (Note from Marc: With our 20 lb. porker, it took about 3 ½ to 4 hours total to roast this beast to temperature.) Let rest for 30 minutes before serving.

To serve:

Using an electric serrated knife, slice the stuffed pig vertically into 1-inch-thick slices, beginning behind the shoulder and reserving he head for presentation. Serve immediately.

Pig-Ninja David

Slicing the Beast

Serving up Wave 1 of Pig and Stuffing. Don't fight over the tail, kids!

I love sharing recipes, and I have a lot of them I go back to over and over. This recipe is in my top five, and I’ve never served them to anyone who didn’t beg for it afterward. (By “it” I mean the recipe, sickos). I realize this picture is kind of a big gloppy of pile of ribs, but there's a simple explanation...it's a big, gloppy pile of ribs.

Yes, they require some labor. Yes, you will need a defibrillator and a Lipitor drip. Yes, there are a lot of ingredients, but don’t be so goddamned lazy. You have to hack up some vegetables, dump them all into a pan with the ribs and let them braise for a few hours. Cry me a river. Once they cool overnight you slice ‘em, bread ‘em, fry the shit out of them and dip them into a quick-and-easy Asian-esque barbecue sauce that’ll make you slap your mama. They’re crispy, they’re tangy, and you won’t stop with just one. According to the recipe, there's enough to serve 6. Once you try them, you'll realize they serve 2. Oink.

Thanks to Food and Wine magazine for rocking our world over and over with this recipe, originally published in 2006. Thanks Kairu Yao for the photo.

Oola’s Crispy Deep-Fried Ribs

One reason Oola's ribs are so impossibly good is that they're braised for hours and then deep-fried so they're supercrisp. The sauce—which includes ketchup and plenty of garlic—was originally concocted for chicken wings.

Ingredients

14 large garlic cloves—8 peeled and smashed, 6 minced

1/2 cup sliced fresh ginger plus 1/4 cup minced (6 ounces total)

6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated

4 star anise pods

3 cups soy sauce

2 quarts water

2 cups ginger ale

1/2 cup dry white wine

Strips of zest and juice from 1 navel orange

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup cilantro stems plus 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

3 racks of baby back ribs (5 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for frying

2 cups lightly packed brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large roasting pan, combine the smashed garlic with the sliced ginger, scallion whites, star anise, 1 1/2 cups of the soy sauce, the water, ginger ale, white wine, orange zest and juice, granulated sugar and cilantro stems. Set the pan over 2 burners and bring to a boil over moderately high heat.

2. Add the baby back ribs to the roasting pan, cover tightly with foil and bake for about 2 hours, or until the ribs are very tender. Let cool to room temperature, then spread the ribs out in a single layer on a baking sheet and refrigerate until chilled and firm, about 30 minutes. Discard the braising liquid.

3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the vegetable oil. Add the minced garlic and ginger and the scallion greens and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of soy sauce, the brown sugar, ketchup and crushed red pepper and bring to a boil. Cook over moderately high heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the chopped cilantro. Transfer the rib sauce to a large bowl.

4. In a large, sturdy pot, heat 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil to 375°. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the cornstarch. Cut the racks into individual ribs. Toss the ribs in the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Working in batches, fry the ribs until the coating is lightly golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer the ribs to paper towels to drain briefly, then add them to the sauce in the bowl and toss to coat. Pile on a platter and serve hot.

MAKE AHEAD The recipe can be prepared through Step 3; refrigerate the ribs and sauce separately for up to 2 days.